1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an interface cable for connecting a portable terminal to a computer in which the portable terminal is comprised, for example, of a data transmission apparatus and a mobile communication apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a portable terminal, such as a data transmission apparatus coupled with a mobile communication apparatus, has an input/output terminal for inputting and/or outputting information for communication with an external apparatus. A computer also has an input/output terminal that allows input and/or output of information for communication with various peripheral apparatuses. In particular, recently developed personal computers include one or more general-purpose input/output terminals, such as universal serial bus (USB) terminals and/or IEEE-1394 terminals. The input/output terminals of the portable terminal and the computer are connected to each other via an interface circuit, thereby allowing communication between the portable terminal and the computer.
In order to communicate information between the portable terminal and the input/output terminal of the computer, computer-side information must be converted to information readable by the portable terminal. Also, portable-terminal-side information must be converted to information readable by the computer. For the conversion of the information, an interface circuit is required. A conventional interface cable has the aforementioned interface circuit between its ends to bilaterally convert the portable-terminal-side information and the computer-side information to an information format readable by the recipient.
Hereinbelow, referring to FIGS. 7 to 9, a description will be given of an example conventional interface cable. The conventional interface cable is used to connect a personal digital cellular terminal (which is referred to as a PDC terminal herein) provided as an input/output terminal in a portable telephone T to a USB terminal provided as an input/output terminal in a computer C.
In the figures, a PDC connector unit 1 to be connected to the PDC terminal of the portable telephone T comprises a PDC connector housing 2, a PDC connector 3, hooks 4, and operation sections 5. The connector housing 2 is formed into a box-shape having an open end which is comprised of a rectangular upper housing 2A and a rectangular lower housing 2B. The PDC connector 3 is attached to the open side of the connector housing 2 and is connectable to the PDC terminal of the portable telephone T. The hooks 4 are provided on the lateral faces of the PDC connector housing 2 which are arranged to be substantially perpendicular to the open side of the PDC connector housing 2 so as to be engaged with and disengaged from the PDC terminal. The operation sections 5 are used to disengage the individual hooks.
On the PDC connector 3, for example, 16 electrode terminals 3A are provided. One end of a telephone-side cable 6 is connected to the individual electrode terminals 3A via core wires 6A. The PDC connector unit 1 is connected to an interface circuit 7 via the telephone-side cable 6.
The interface circuit 7 is connected to the other end of the telephone-side cable 6 and includes a circuit housing 8 and a circuit board 9. The circuit housing 8 is formed into a container and is comprised of an upper housing 8A and a lower housing 8B. The circuit board 9 on which integrated circuit elements (ICs) and other circuit elements are formed is provided in the circuit housing 8. The other end of the telephone-side cable 6 is connected to the circuit board 9 via the 16 core wires 6A. Also, one end of a computer-side cable 10 is connected to the circuit board 9, via four core wires 10A. The interface circuit 7 configured as described above uses the ICs and other circuit elements which are provided on the circuit board 9. The interface circuit 7 converts the computer-side information C to information readable by the portable telephone T, and converts the portable-telephone-side information to information readable by the computer C.
The USB connector 11 is connectable to a USB terminal on the computer C. The USB connector 11 is formed of a USB-connector housing 12 and a USB plug 13. The USB-connector housing 12 forms a box-shaped container having one open end and includes an upper housing 12A and a lower housing 12B. The USB plug 13 is connectable to the USB terminal of the computer C and is provided in the USB-connector housing 12.
In the USB plug 13, for example, four electrode terminals 13A are provided. The other end of the core wires 10A of the computer-side cable 10 is connected to the electrode terminals 13A. The USB connector 11 is connected to the interface circuit 7 via the computer-side cable 10.
The conventional interface cable is configured as described above. Hereinbelow, operation of the interface cable is described.
For example, to perform communication between an external apparatus and the computer C through the portable telephone T, the PDC connector unit 1 is connected to the PDC terminal of the portable telephone T, and the USB connector 11 is connected to the USB terminal of the computer C. Thereby, the interface circuit 7, which is provided between the portable phone and the computer via each respective connector, converts information transmitted by the computer C to information readable by the portable telephone T. Also, the interface circuit 7 converts information transmitted by the portable telephone T to information readable by the computer C. This allows the computer-side information to be sent to an external apparatus through the portable telephone. Also, information transmitted by an external device can be read into the computer C through the portable telephone T.
In addition, using the interface cable allows information such as remote phone addresses stored in a memory of the portable telephone T to be read into the computer C and allows the edited information to be stored back in the memory of portable telephone T.
As described above, the interface circuit 7 is provided between the PDC connector unit 1 and the USB connector 11. Therefore, in order to manufacture the interface cable, the PDC connector unit 1, the interface circuit 7, and the USB connector 11 must be individually assembled. Also, these components must be connected using two cables, namely the telephone-side cable 6 and the computer-side cable 10. This creates a problem in that the interface cable is comprised of a large number of components, thereby reducing manufacturing productivity and increasing manufacturing costs.
In view of the problems described above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an interface cable that allows the number of components and manufacturing costs to be reduced.
To achieve this object, the present invention provides an interface cable as described below.
According to one aspect, the present invention provides a device for facilitating communication between a portable terminal and a computer in which a housing defines an inner volume and has an opening. A first connector is removably connectable to one of a computer and a portable terminal and protrudes through the opening in the housing. An interface circuit is coupled to the first connector in which the interface circuit is located within the housing. A cable is coupled to the interface circuit. A second connector is removably connectable to the other. of the computer and the portable terminal.
According to another aspect, the present invention provides an interface device for coupling a PDC terminal with a USB terminal on a computer in which a housing defines an inner volume and has an opening. A PDC connector is removably connectable the PDC terminal. The PDC connector protrudes through the opening in the housing. An interface circuit is coupled to the PDC connector in which the interface circuit is located within the housing. A cable is coupled to the interface circuit. A USB connector is removably connectable to the computer.
The present invention advantageously allows the information-converting interface circuit and one of the portable-terminal-side connector and the computer-side connector to be integrally provided in a single housing. Therefore, the interface cable can be configured with fewer components than in the case where the interface circuit and the connectors are individually provided in separate housings. Accordingly, the present invention reduces assembly time, thereby improving manufacturing productivity.
Also, in the interface cable of the present invention, one of the portable-terminal-side connector and the computer-side connector may comprise a plurality of electrode terminals connectable to mating terminals. Also, obverse and reverse faces of a circuit board of the information-converting interface circuit may be positioned between the electrode terminals of one of the portable-terminal-side connector and the computer-side connector. The interface circuit can advantageously be positioned by using the electrode terminals of one of the connectors to surround an edge of the interface circuit board. This facilitates connection of the electrode terminals on the connector to the circuit board.
Also, use of the electrode terminals allows the circuit board to be positioned substantially centered heightwise with respect to the connector. Therefore, even when integrated circuits and other circuit elements are mounted on obverse and reverse faces, the circuit board can be easily stored in the connector housing. Providing circuit elements on both sides of the circuit board allows miniaturization of the circuit board.
In addition, in the interface cable of the present invention, one of the portable-terminal-side connector and the computer-side connector may comprise a plurality of electrode terminals connectable to mating terminals. Also, the electrode terminals of the one of the portable-terminal-side connector and the computer-side connector may be connected to an obverse face of a circuit board of the information-converting interface circuit.
In this case, the electrode terminals of the connector are connected to only the obverse face of the interface circuit board. This further simplifies connection manufacturing compared to the case where the electrode terminals are connected to both the obverse and reverse faces of the circuit board.
Therefore the interface circuit. and the other of the connectors that is separately provided can be connected by a cable having a smaller number of core wires. As such, a less-expensive cable having a reduced number of core wires can be used.